12 dead in London tower fire

At least twelve people have been confirmed dead in a huge fire at a London tower block and the death toll may rise, say police.

Fire engulfed the 24-storey block of flats in central London in the early hours of Wednesday. More than 50 people were injured and some residents were trapped inside the tower.

"We can confirm six fatalities at this time following the fire in North Kensington," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement. "These are very early stages and we do expect that figure to rise."

Flames licked up the sides of the block in the north Kensington area as 200 firefighters, backed up by 40 fire engines, fought the blaze for hours.

Plumes of black and grey smoke billowed high into the air over the British capital hours after the blaze broke out at the Grenfell Tower where several hundred people live.

Residents rushed to escape through smoke-filled corridors in the housing block after being woken up by the smell of burning. Some said no fire alarm sounded.

Witnesses said they saw trapped residents desperately shouting for help from windows on upper floors as flames enveloped the building.

London Fire Brigade said the fire engulfed all floors from the second to the top of the block which contained 130 apartments.

"In my 29 years of being a fire fighter, I have never ever seen anything of this scale," London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton told reporters

"I am very sad to confirm that there have been a number of fatalities, I cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and complexity of this building," according to Reuters.

Editor : A.H.M Moazzem Hossain

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